In May the Board of Supervisors for the City and County of San Francisco approved an ordinance banning the use of facial recognition technology by all city departments. It’s the only major U.S. city to have taken such action against the emerging technology. But the measure is part of a larger and...

If you live in Detroit, Cleveland or Newark, odds are good the stress level in your world is pretty high. Conversely, if you reside in Fremont, California or Bismarck, North Dakota, life is likely a much smoother ride. Those conclusions are according to research by the personal finance website WalletHub...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved waivers allowing the imposition of work requirements for Medicaid enrollees in nine states, according to the National Academy for State Health Policy. Approved waivers have been blocked by legal challenges in two states - Arkansas and Kentucky...

CO CONSERVATIVES PUSH TO RECALL DEMOCRATIC GOV, LAWMAKERS Conservatives in COLORADO are pushing to recall Gov. Jared Polis (D) and two Democratic state senators. The recall effort comes after a legislative session in which Democrats who now control the state’s General Assembly pushed through...

At least 26 states have introduced bills this session dealing with the collection and use of biometric information, such as fingerprints, speech patterns or gait, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and LexisNexis State Net. Three of those states - Arkansas, New York...

Legislation dealing with medical balance billing - the charging of patients by healthcare providers for services not fully covered at the providers’ rate by the patients’ insurance - has been introduced in 32 states this year, according to analysis by LexisNexis State Net . Seven of those...

Okay, if you’re the governor you figure that in these polarized times half the voters don’t love you no matter what you do. But even the hardest hearts have to acknowledge the awesomeness of dogs. Case in point this week comes from Michigan, where the Detroit Free Press reports that Gov....

MICHIGAN MAY NEED STOPGAP BUDGET BILL MICHIGAN Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) may propose a stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, but says she will continue to push for the infrastructure spending that has led to a budget impasse in the state. Whitmer proposed a gas tax increase of 45 cents...

California Senate Appropriations Committee Kills AB 161 The CALIFORNIA Senate Appropriations Committee kills AB 161 , a bill that would have banned most paper receipts at large retailers unless customers requested one (LEXISNEXIS STATE NET). Michigan Department Of Health and Human Services ...

California Governor Signs SB 276 and SB 714 CALIFORNIA Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signs two vaccine-related measures: SB 276 , which would allow the state to investigate doctors who grant more than five medical vaccine exemptions in a single year, and SB 714 , which allows a medical exemption granted before...

VA GOV VOWS END TO LAWSUITS AGAINST PATIENTS VIRGINIA Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said he would work with University of Virginia James Ryan to end the widespread practice of aggressively pursuing former patients for unpaid medical bills. A recent investigation by Kaiser Health News revealed that that UVA...

Calling the rise in vaping-related illnesses “a frightening public health phenomenon,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) proposed legislation to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in the Empire State. “Common sense says if you do not know what you are smoking, don’t smoke...

Amid a growing number of vaping-related deaths and serious illnesses, Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gavin Newsom of California, both Democrats, launched efforts last week to ban the products. The actions come days after the Trump administration announced plans to impose a federal ban on the...

Many states have learned lessons from the Great Recession of 2007-09 and are better prepared for the next economic downturn, according to findings by the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) and other analysts. “Rainy day funds are growing as a share of state budgets,”...

WA GOV ORDERS VAPING BAN Citing a rising number of illnesses and deaths linked to e-tobacco use, WASHINGTON Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said he will ask the state board of health to adopt emergency rules enacting a statewide ban on flavored vaping products. At least four other states – MICHIGAN, NEW...

TROUBLED NJ ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY AWARDS TAX BREAKS The NEW JERSEY Economic Development Authority has released $533 million in tax breaks for 31 companies that had been on hold since the state’s incentive programs came under scrutiny this year. Several companies reportedly complained that...

IN COMMENCES ONLINE SPORTS BETTING DraftKings and Rush Street Interactive launched mobile sports wagering platforms throughout INDIANA last week, making the state the eighth to offer legal online sports betting. Sports betting became legal in the state on Sept. 1, but only in-person wagering was authorized...

New York Governor Signs SB 5091 NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signs SB 5091 , a bill that requires pharmacies to inform patients whenever a Class 1 recall has been issued for a prescription drug they're taking. The notification, which can be made by phone or mail, must come within three days...

SCOTUS Overturns MI Gerrymandering Case The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the ruling by a three-judge panel in April calling for the redrawing of several MICHIGAN Congressional and legislative districts before the 2020 election on the grounds that they give Republicans an unfair advantage. The decision...

Last month the Michigan State Administrative Board, controlled by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), made $625 million in transfers within the departmental budgets approved by the state’s Legislature. That action only fueled an effort by Republicans who control both legislative chambers to curb the governor’s...

Eight states have enacted some version of the Data Security Model Law adopted by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in 2017, according to the National Law Review. Three of the states did so in 2018, with the other five enacting measures this year. At least two other states have...

The impending California Consumer Privacy Act and other state data privacy laws have done more than motivate companies to rethink how they manage consumer data; it also has many organizations thinking more than ever about how they manage their cyber insurance coverage. Once considered a niche product...

As of Oct. 15, governors or public health agencies in seven states had imposed temporary bans on the sale of vaping products, four of which had been at least partially blocked by legal challenges, according to Time . At least five states have also introduced bills this year aimed at banning flavored...

As public health officials confront an outbreak of lung injuries linked to vaping from e-cigarettes, a patchwork of state and local responses have cropped up in lieu of federal regulation. But with a developing and not yet fully understood problem, and with several e-cigarette bans in a handful...

It’s the holiday season, and if most voters are thinking about politics at all they are probably pondering more about how to get through family festivities without a major blowup over differing political philosophies than they are about next year’s legislative agendas. But rest assured...